Meta Launches AI Studio for Custom AI Creation |Small Business Trends

August 6, 2024August 5, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Meta has announced the rollout of AI Studio, a new platform that allows users to create, share, and discover AI characters without the need for technical skills. AI Studio, built with Llama 3.1, offers users the opportunity to design AI characters that can entertain, provide advice, generate memes, and much more.

Create AI Characters Based on Your Interests

With AI Studio, anyone can create AI characters at ai.meta.com/ai-studio or within the Instagram app. Users can utilize a variety of prompt templates or start from scratch to design AIs tailored to their interests, whether it’s cooking, generating Instagram captions, or making friends laugh with memes. These AI characters can be kept private or shared with followers and friends, and can also be made available for discovery and interaction on Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and the web.

Everything leaving Netflix in August 2024 | Digital Trends

August 2, 2024August 1, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes, there are months when Netflix barely loses anything of note. Unfortunately, August is not one of those months. Everything Everywhere All At Once, the first five Spider-Man live-action films, Paddington, The Woman King, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, and more will be heading out the door by the time August 31 rolls around.

Most of these films have been on loan to Netflix by Sony as part of a larger agreement between the streamer and the movie studio. But even acclaimed indie movies like Marcel the Shell with Shoes On are running out of time on Netflix this month. As a subscriber, there’s only one thing to do if you want to catch these films before they depart: Make your viewing plans now. August is one of the longest months of the year, so use that extra day to your advantage. In the meantime, check out our roundup of everything leaving Netflix in August 2024. As always, our picks for the month are in bold.

Fed Decision: Officials Hold Rates Steady, Signal First Cut Is Nearer | Bloomberg

August 1, 2024July 31, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said an interest-rate cut could come as soon as September after the US central bank voted to leave its benchmark at the highest level in more than two decades.

“The question will be whether the totality of the data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks are consistent with rising confidence on inflation and maintaining a solid labor market,”

Powell told reporters Wednesday. “If that test is met, a reduction in our policy rate could be on the table as soon as the next meeting in September.”

His comments followed a Federal Open Market Committee decision to leave the federal funds rate in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, a level they have maintained since last July.

Amazon responsible for product recalls, says US | BBC News

July 31, 2024July 30, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

US regulators have ruled that Amazon is responsible for handling recalls of unsafe products sold on its site and must improve its process.

They said Amazon’s alerts were not sufficient to convince its customers to stop using such products and ordered the company to submit a new plan for how it will respond.

The decision by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) came after the agency sued the e-commerce giant in 2021 for distributing more than 400,000 hazardous items, including faulty carbon monoxide detectors.

Amazon said it planned to appeal the finding while defending its practices.

Simone Biles leads USA to Olympic gymnastics team gold as GB finish fourth | BBC Sport

July 31, 2024July 30, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Simone Biles inspired the United States to victory in the women’s team gymnastics event as the first leg of a “redemption tour” began with a fifth Olympic gold.

For the world’s most decorated gymnast, it is the first Olympic gold since Rio 2016 after she pulled out of several events in Tokyo three years ago with the ‘twisties’ – a disorientating mental block.

Fellow sporting greats like Serena Williams and Michael Phelps were on their feet in the packed Bercy Arena as Biles’ stunning Taylor Swift-inspired floor routine sealed gold for her and team-mates Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera.

Apple Maps finally comes to the web | Mashable

July 26, 2024July 25, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

More than a decade after it launched on phones, Apple Maps is now also available in your preferred computer’s web browser window.

Touted as a beta release, this version of Apple Maps can be found at https://beta.maps.apple.com/ (removing the “beta” part will land you at Apple’s landing page for the mobile version of Maps)

Senate Defiance Act passes unanimously, outlining civil path for deepfake victims | Mashable

July 26, 2024July 25, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

New anti-deepfake legislation, known as the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (Defiance) Act, has passed a Senate vote with unanimous consent, pushing the first of potentially many AI-focused regulations one step closer to federal law.

The bipartisan Defiance Act grants victims the right to sue individuals who “knowingly produce, distribute, or receive” nonconsensual sexually-explicit digital forgeries. It was introduced to the session by Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin and Republican senator Lindsay Graham, but Democratic representative and co-leader Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become a figurehead of the legislation.

Conn’s, a 134-year-old home goods retailer, is closing 70 stores | CNN Business

July 25, 2024July 24, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Conn’s HomePlus, a 134-year-old furniture and electronics retailer with locations primarily in the southern United States, has filed for bankruptcy and is closing nearly half of its 170 stores.

The Texas-based company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, has been struggling with slumping sales amid a broader slowdown in discretionary spending among consumers. Conn’s has assets and liabilities worth at least $1 billion each, according to the filing.

The 73 Conn’s HomePlus stores closing are listed on its website. Florida is the most affected state with 18 stores soon shutting down, followed by Texas with 9 locations. Other states where stores are closing include Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia.

A Conn’s spokesperson said that as the company goes through the Chapter 11 process, it “continues to have ongoing discussions with potential buyers to sell all or parts of the business and preserve jobs.”

Ford keeps having to repair customers’ new cars and trucks. Its profit is plunging and its stock tumbled | CNN Business

July 25, 2024July 24, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Shares of Ford fell more than 11% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the automaker reported much weaker than expected earnings. The company said it was compelled to set aside more money to cover the cost of repairing customers’ vehicles.

The company (F) did not break out how much extra money it set aside to cover warranty expenses, but said “most” of the $1.2 billion drop in operating income in the quarter came from that increased expense. Still, Ford said it is making gains in product quality, despite the increased costs.

“We still have lots of work ahead of us to raise quality and reduce costs and complexity, but the team is committed and we’re heading in the right direction,” said Ford CFO John Lawler in the company’s earnings report.

The company’s adjusted net income fell $1 billion to $1.9 billion, or 47 cents a share. That badly missed analysts’ forecasts of earnings per share of 68 cents a share